Thursday, September 29, 2016

That was my reaction after seeing this at our shoot which was held at our client's showroom. This couch was made of the softest of rubber, and despite its angular orientation, it was very, very comfortable.

It was the type of couch that I imagine for our office lobby, although this one is a tad bit too big.

Out of curiosity, I asked how much this set cost. And apparently, it was around P800,000! That's when my thought voice exclaimed:

Thursday, September 22, 2016

We were in the brainstorming room discussing some work. While leafing through an issue of Inquirer Libre during the break, something on the page made me spring up from my seat and run into the creative area.

Kevin was in the papers!

Not only is he a pilot now, he's a pilot who makes public appearances! Harhar.

Monday, September 19, 2016

The first reaction I had after seeing this Givenchy dress that Cate Blanchett wore to the 2011 Oscars was a jaw drop followed by a huge "Wow!"

Everything - from the design, to the fabric, to the color, to the embellishment - they were all so modernly and beautifully done. It was something so unique that it was seared on my mind as a major fashion moment.

It was a moment that I happily relived last Sunday when I saw this:

Yes! It was the exact same dress that Cate Blanchett wore, now on display at Isetan in Shinjuku.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Okay, technically this isn't food. It's a drink. But it's still a discovery.

Discovering F&N Ice Cream soda was a case of drink envy. While we were eating at the beehoon and wing store, I spied it at the next table. It was being enjoyed by a little boy - maybe around 7 years old - and he looked like he was having the time of his life.

So, in the tradition of "When Harry Met Sally", I said: "I'll have what he's having."

And it turned out to be a great decision because this Ice Cream soda was SOOOOO GOOD! It's like A&W's rootbeer float, raised a few notches higher. (That doesn't mean I'm replacing A&W rootbeer float with this.)

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Rajo Laurel is one of Plains & Prints' more prolific collaborators. He's already done 2 previous collections for the brand, and in both cases, my sisters were able to get some pieces from the collaboration.

After the announcement came that he'll be part of the new collaboration for the brand, I was very interested his dresses. So, when the lookbook came, that was the first page I turned to.

Just like the other designers, he was tasked to design 2 dresses. One was a silk dress with a doodle print, while the other was a color blocked dress made of a waffle-textured fabric.

Compared to the other designers' creations, Rajo's looked a bit more subdued. That's why I ended up buying the ones created by Vania Romoff and Randy Ortiz. But when I had the time to really look at both dresses, that's when I began to appreciate them.

Well, the printed silk dress looked very much like the galactic dress from 2011. And since Ate Bullet had that, there was no reason to purchase it.

The second dress, though, had a lot of things going for it.

First, the fabric was beautiful. It had that weight and texture that makes if fall nicely on the body. Second, the cold-shoulder, cape combination was a fresh look at 2 of the more current fashion trends. Third, the play of colors was nice and refreshing.

Taking those into consideration, I decided to add this to my Ate's stash, too.

Monday, September 12, 2016

Of course, last week's visit to SG wouldn't have been complete without a visit to Vivo City and Carl's Jr.

That was the last on the agenda before I flew back to Manila. This time around, they had a limited edition chicken sandwich called the "South Beach Chicken Sandwich." It was composed of a flame-grilled chicken breast, veggies and pineapples! Needless to say, they had me at pineapples!

In keeping with their healthy theme, it was served with Mango Sjora. And to stay true to its fast food roots, it comes with large fries. LARGE FRIES! Woohoo!

Sunday, September 11, 2016

The past week, I've been hearing so many rave reviews about this Korean thriller, "Train to Busan." It opened quietly in Manila theaters a week ago, then it started a fever pitch. Now, cinemas are showing it in multiple theaters because of the huge demand.

Heck, Ali Mall only has 4 theaters, and 2 of them is "Train to Busan." That should mean something.

I wasn't the least bit curious about it until my students raved about it. So my thought was: "Fine, let's watch this film."

And boy, I'm glad I did! It's really an awesome film.

It's not the most original, actually. A chunk of it felt like "World War Z" mixed in with a bit of "Speed." But its shortcoming in originality was compensated with its engagement.

It's been a while since I've seen a film - a thriller at that - which engaged the audience to a great degree. Everyone around me was screaming and jumping off their seats in unison. (I didn't, but watching the people in my surroundings was fun.)

What's great about it is that it isn't a cookie-cutter thriller. It was actually quite emotional, and my seatmates were crying at some point of the film. And I thought, "A thriller that makes people cry. That's novel."

When we exited the theater, there was already a very long queue for the next screening. And the people going out were telling the people who were about to go in that the movie is well worth the price of admission. How's that for word-of-mouth-marketing.

It's no wonder that "Train to Busan' has gained traction worldwide. Talks of it being remade in Hollywood. is even in the works. Amazing for a small film from Korea.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Making smores is an easy way to spread happiness and good vibes. You just get graham crackers, marshmallow and chocolates, place them in the microwave for a few seconds, and voila! Bite-sized happiness!

Every so often I make smores for the folks at the office. And yesterday, I found a way to level up the smores experience.

Presenting, super smores!

Instead of graham crackers, I used this Italian cookie which has that biscotti texture and crunch. Instead of milk chocolate, I used the Godiva dark chocolate which I brought from the U.S. Then, of course, a ultra large marshmallow.

Thursday, September 08, 2016

When I checked out the preview sale of the new Plains & Prints collaboration, I only had less than an hour to spare. Aside from the fact that I had meetings, there was the matter of the very, very, very, very early flight the next day.

So, there wasn't really enough time to check each and every piece out. And I only bought the pieces which were really striking - which led me to purchase the 2 Vania Romoff dresses.

Now that there's more time, I decided to drop by Plains & Prints Shangrila to further peruse the lookbook. This is when the discovery came that one of the dresses that Randy Ortiz designed was beautifully chic!

It was such a knockout that it had to be bought. I remembered, though, that the collection won't be in stores until September 15. Next best thing: ask whether the dress could be reserved.

Then, surprise of surprises, it turns out that they have the dress in their stockroom. Nope, they weren't selling it yet, but since I was interested in it so much, they allowed me to purchase it in advance.

(The pink box is back!)

What's awesome about this dress is that it has so many classic elements to it. Then, it was fused together to make it look more updated and ultra chic.

There's the standing collar, the bib, and the pink ribbon. Once combined, it has that very Karl Lagerfeld feel to it.

Wednesday, September 07, 2016

Aside from food, the only other thing I bought in SG are magazines. Particularly, the September issues of some of my favorite titles.

As expected the September issue of Vogue is hefty and heavy. In fact, it was so heavy, I had to put in on the table to read it. Content-wise, it didn't disappoint. It was eye candy from the first page, and the feature on Grace Coddington was top notch.

And for InStyle, the big surprise of this issue is the fact that it's the last issue under it's Editorial Director, Ariel Foxman. He bid goodbye to the readers of InStyle in his Editor's letter, and it was bittersweet because I've grown accustomed to his sense of style and joie-de-vivre.

There's a long weekend coming up, and these two will definitely keep me busy then.

Sunday, September 04, 2016

The good thing about asking a local to show you the best places to eat is the fact that they really take you to off-beaten tracks and make you discover food that you didn't think was possible!

Yes, I'm that excited about today's discovery.

Presenting, the Ramly burger.

Apparently, Ramly is the brand name of burger patties made of either beef, chicken or mutton. This is one of the most popular brands of patties in Malaysia, and it's finding its way around the neighborhood.

Here's what's awesome about the Ramly burger. They first get an egg, flatten it and fry it. Then, they put the patty of your choice (mine was chicken) at the center of the egg, then drizzle it with mayonnaise and barbecue sauce. Gosh, just standing in front of it is making me fat!

Once it's done, they fold the egg so that the chicken patty is inside the egg. This is a case of the egg coming before the chicken. Harhar.

The result, a heavenly burger which explodes with flavor each time you take a bite.

Now here's the catch about this Ramly burger. It's only available in pop-up stores, and you don't know when they'll pop-up. That's why I'm lucky to have chanced upon their stall!

Saturday, September 03, 2016

Just a few days back, Plains & Prints announced a new designer collaboration. This time, it wasn't with one, not two, but five designers.

It was a combination of old collaborators (Eala, Laurel and Ortiz) with two new female designers added to the mix. (Disini and Romoff.)

Of course, I was interested to see what these designers came up with. Particularly, I wanted to see the dresses created by Rajo Laurel since his first 2 collaborations for Plains & Prints resulted in very nice pieces.

Yesterday, they had a preview sale of the collection and decided to drop by. The collection had a total of 10 dresses, and after poring through the racks, two dresses impressed me the most.

(The dresses came in this nice pink box. That didn't sound right.)

The designer of these 2 dresses? Vania Romoff!

Among the lot, her dresses were the most chic and unique. For starters, the designs were exquisite. True to her aesthetic, the dresses were truly graceful.

What I liked most about her collection is that she really embraced prints. Apart from being impeccably designed and constructed, her clothes came in printed fabrics. One was this beautiful botanical print, while the other was delicately embossed on to the jacquard-ish fabric.

Among the 5 designers, Vania Romoff delivered the best dresses. Romoff wins!

(Incidentally, this is the 3rd Vania Romoff collaboration that's in my sister's closet. She has clothes from Vania's collaboration with Crossings and Ensembles.)

Friday, September 02, 2016

Since a lot of the creative folks are within my age range, we all know and appreciate the concept of Friday Magic Madness. And we have it at the office as much as we possibly could.

Now, there are also a few millennials in the office, and we're trying to teach them the joys of this day of musical flashbacks. On Fridays, we encourage them to listen to "old" songs, particularly those from their childhood.

We asked one of the younger ones about her favorite pop song as a kid. Her reply: "My favorite when I was in Grade 1 was Backstreet Boys' song - 'I want in that way.'"

Then, we realized that this song was from 1999. And we were already working at that time. And she was grade 1.

About Me

DELINQUENT BLOGGER: Created 2 blogs he never used, which makes this one number 3.
ARTIFICIAL-NEED-CREATOR: Has spent the last decade peddling everything from drugs, milk, shampoo, toothpaste, soap, cigarettes, insurance plans, malls, celebrities, gifted children, even April Boy.
WANDERER: Must see some place new every year. Flew to Prague on a whim. Flew to Amsterdam on a quest. Flew to Barcelona on a dream. Flew to Bangkok on a favor. Flew to Hong Kong on a new chapter. Flew to Japan to make someone happy.
JEAN ADDICT: More than a hundred and still counting. Antik, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, D Squared, Energie, Esprit, Folded & Hung, Gas, G-Star, Indu Homme, Industrie, Izzue, Jack Jones, K-2, Levi's, Lee, Marithe+Francois Girbaud, Nudie, Old Navy, Parasuco, Pull & Bear, Replay, Rough Rider, Two percent, True Religion, Topman, Y-3, Zara
FASHION FINDER: Whips up an outfit in 5 minutes flat.
BARGAIN BUDDY: Can create an outfit for P1,000 or less. (top + bottom + shoes)
ACCIDENTAL PROFESSOR: I love to teach! I learn from my students as much as they learn from me.
SPONGE: Ready to seep in what the world dishes out.